15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 15

This 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by Good Books and Good Wine.

Well today is the last day of the challenge. I have certainly enjoyed participating, and thanks to April at Good Books and Good Wine for creating it.

Day 15: Who are your book blogging mentors?

I don't really have mentors, but there are some bloggers that I love the content of, and have done since I started. Namely:

Giselle @ Xpresso Reads

Steph & Kat @ Cuddlebuggery 

(I realise they have more contributors now, but they were there first when I started.)

Ashley @ Noze Graze

Shane @ Itching For Books

Danny, Pushy & Heather @ Bewitched Bookworms

Oh I'm sure I could name more, but we'd be here forever. All these girls are fantastic, and if you haven't checked them out before, you should now. =)

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 14

Day 14: Tell us your deal breakers.

I'm not sure I'd classify them as deal breakers, as I'll usually will read past them anyway and just rate the book accordingly, but I'm not fond of:

• Insta-love
• Love triangles
• Annoying characters
• Boring/no plot

If I'm just not getting into the book after reading 100 odd pages that's a DNF for me. 

The number 1 thing that is a deal breaker where I won't even bother to pick the book up are authors having 'foot in mouth' syndrome. I have a fairly decent size list of books I just won't bother with because an author has said/made public one of the following:

• Flaming reviewers for negative reviews
• Attacking reviewers for negative reviews
• Authors that go around belittling others (I won't name names, nor link to the thread, but they are out there). 

This is a brief sum up of some of the issues that came to light in 2012 and have continued this year as well. They stuck with me as it was right when I was just starting out on Goodreads and blogging. I'm not talking about authors that get upset at personal attacks to themselves (I can understand that, it's what I'm talking about for reviewers), I'm talking about authors that go out of their way to tweet, facebook, blog post, and/or comment on a negative, or not as highly rated as they'd had wanted, review of their book. 

This is controversial, and I know it, but I have sat back and never said a word about it. I have however always made note of who has had such a 'meltdown' and decided that I won't contribute to them having a further meltdown, I'll just stay far away... from their books. 

For me, it is the number 1 deal breaker - attacking a reviewer over their opinion of your book. 

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 13

Day 13: Describe one underappreciated book EVERYONE should read. 

This is hard, as I have a couple but I don't think EVERYONE should read them because certain aspects of them will not be suitable for all. That's why I have picked two - sorry I cheated. 

The Harvesting by Melaine Karsak

This horror/zombie story is captivating, fast paced, interesting and well written. If you like this genre I highly recommend it. It's not a typical zombie novel, there are some twists and there is more to it.

Flawed by Kate Avelynn

This heartfelt contemporary deals with incest and I can understand that it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but if you can handle the incest (which isn't over the top, overly graphic, or throughout the entire story) it is definitely worth a read. It is emotional and heartbreaking.   

These were two of my favourites last year, and are still two of my top picks. 
Want some more that I think deserve recognition check out my Top Ten Tuesday post. ;)

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 12

This 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by Good Books and Good Wine.

Day 12: How do you fight blogger fatigue?

Seriously I wish I knew. I suffered last semester pretty bad.

When I'm stressed for time or don't feel like posting, the first thing to suffer are the reviews. I hold off on them until I feel like putting them together. It's to the point that some are taking months to write up. 
At one point I signed up for most cover reveals, blitz posts and tours that would suit my blog to so there was content (interesting content though) on the blog because I just didn't have the time to put into the blog myself. 

Now I'm trying to get content, not tours or the likes, my content in draft form on the blog. That way I will have content I can publish when I need it, rather than stressing about getting content up. I did a lot of it yesterday, and I'm planning to pre write the reviews I haven't done for over the coming few weeks - spreading some reviews around. I'm not making all the draft posts publish ready just the basics, that way when I am pushed for time, or not feeling like it, I can still do it with only half the work I use to have to do. Hopefully I won't be so bad then this semester. 

So I don't have an actual idea of how to fight the fatigue but I'm hoping that my fore planning will lessen it at least. I just know that I don't want to stop, and I definitely don't want to take a break (I might not come back to it, I'm like that. lol), but I just need to plan better I think. 


Oh, and yes I missed Day 11 - I couldn't single out 5 posts as I feel I need more original content first ;) 

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 9 & 10

Day 9: Why do you blog about books?

I was running late last night so I didn't do Day 9's post, so here it is.

Before I say why, I need to say how I started. I wanted a way to track the books I read and got put onto Goodreads. Through Goodreads I discovered several amazing bloggers. I decided book blogging would be an awesome thing to get involved in and this is why. ....

I blog about books because:

1.  I wanted somewhere that I could discuss the books I read that was my own little part of the internet, not just Goodreads. 
2. I have difficulty writing how I feel and writing my thoughts down on specific topics and I figured that my love of reading would be able to assist me in this. 
3. Lastly, I found a community that I could relate too. Reading is generally a solitary act and having fellow readers to discuss books with was largely appealing. While my husband does do some reading it is not the same genre of books as me and he doesn't all that much. I don't have any friends that read either. So it didn't take much thought for me to realise this was something I would definitely enjoy. And it's fun!

They are the main reasons I blog about books. I don't get to do anywhere near enough photography to justify a photography blog, but I'm always reading. It was a logical choice for me. 

Day 10: How do you chose what to read next?

I use to be a mood reader, and I think I still am. Though lately my choices have been based on what needs to be reviewed first. 

When I'm choosing a book (not including review books) I generally I would pick out a couple I'm thinking of reading and then in no particular order I'd start reading them. If the first page doesn't make me interested enough to keep going, I'll put it down and move on to the next one. I'll continue until one of them attracts my attention enough to get past the first page. If none in that group do, I'll put them away and pick another stack of books that interest me. 

That's it. Nothing too complicated, just a lot of lifting of books. =D

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 7 & 8

This 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by Good Books and Good Wine.

Day 7: Talk about your blogging quirks.

I don't know if I have any quirks. 

• Ummm, I don't schedule posts, I write them either when they are due (for tours, reveals, memes etc) or when I feel like it. 
• Further to that, I keep a record of what tours, blitz, reveals etc I will be participating in on a calendar and create the post on the day, rather then schedule the post when I receive the information.
• I don't auto anything really. Everything I put up on social media I do manually (and when I remember).
• I tend to write longer reviews for books I didn't like as there are points I can discuss and I've made more notes. Yet I struggle discussing the good in a book I enjoy as I'm too busy enjoying it that I don't take notes.  
• I write my thoughts on a book in a notepad before I start wording my review in a post. 

Day 8: Quick! Write 15 bullet points of things that appeal to you on blogs.

1. Design. I like clean, organised designs. If it feels cluttered I won't return. 
2. Style. Easy to read font, and colours. White on black, yellow on brown etc, I can't focus on what I'm reading - the whole point I'm there.
3. Variety. I like to see different things such as discussions, excerpts, promotional posts etc, and not just reviews as, unless I've already read the book, I only look at the rating and overall thoughts and not read the review because I don't want the book spoilt for me.
4. Easy navigation. If I want to follow you, or search for something I don't want to be looking all over the place trying to find it because things haven't been put in a organised way. 
5. Silence. I don't like loading any page (blog or website) and be forced to listen to music or a video etc. I won't return. It's a pet peeve of mine. I hate going to a site and not only having the music come on, but then not be able to find a way to turn it off. 
6. Review Archives.  If I like your review of a book, then I'd like to go back to your other reviews and see what you thought of ones I've read and am yet to read. 
7. Personality. I like to see you come through in your blog. 
8. Regular Updates. I know that it's not always possible, but if a blog continues to take breaks (as in a few weeks apart) or doesn't post for a while, I lose interest. 
9. Opinionated. I love blogs that say what they really think and take a stance on controversial topics. 
10. Varied Reviews. If all the reviews are positive 5 star reviews your blog isn't for me. As per the point above, I like your honest opinion, negative reviews are good reviews too.
11. Other ways to follow. While I have GFC on my blog, personally GFC isn't good for me to follow a blog through. I don't want to be bombarded by emails from every blog. I like other options, such as Twitter, Facebook, Bloglovin. 
12. No Captcha. There are other ways to stop spam. If I comment and have to do captcha there's a big chance I just don't comment at all. 

    

    Source

13. Not just words. I like posts, especially long posts, to have a picture in to break up the words. Even if it's just the cover of the book in a review, or a photo of the stack of books you got and not just a list of them. 
14. Links. If you are going to talk about a book, link it to Goodreads. If I like the sound of the book and I want to add it or look further into it, I like the convenience of a link. Sometimes I'll just forget it and not bother to follow it if there is no link. 
15. Ratings. Sometimes I don't want to read the full review as I'm yet to read the book, but I would like a general idea of what they thought and ratings do that just fine. 

Needless to say, good grammar and spelling. It irks me when published books have grammatical and spelling errors, I doubt I'm going to love your blog and be a regular visitor if your grammar and spelling is poor. Typos I can over look. ;)

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 6 : Describe how you shop for books

This 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by Good Books and Good Wine.

Day 6: Describe how you shop for books.

It depends. If I'm looking at book hauls or new releases and see something I'd love to read, I'll generally log on to the Book Depository and order from there. 

If I'm at Big W or some other department store I'll wander over to the book section and browse (for too long as my son complains) and see what they have. I look at pretty, eye catching covers first. Then I try to recall some popular books in the blogs/reviews I read and see if they are there. If none of that yields results I'll start reading all the titles and author names for something that sounds familiar and then read the blurb on the back to see if I'm interested enough to buy it. I get a lot of my random purchases this way. 
Also, I can't walk past a bookshop without going in and looking around, I tend to wander to their Fantasy/Sci Fi section, then the YA section, then on to Adult Fiction and Crime. If they have a reduced section I start there first. I usually don't want to leave, and there might be something that I didn't see the first time (or second time, or third time) that I might miss if I don't check again, so I tend to do a couple of rounds. I can waste a lot of time in a bookstore. I'm glad that the better one in the area isn't where I normally go shopping. ;)

Unfortunately for the booksellers here, it is cheaper to get my books from the Book Depository then it is to buy them here. I don't mind waiting a few days for my order if I'm saving enough over 2 books to buy a third.  

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 5 : Recommend a tear jerker

This 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by Good Books and Good Wine.

Day 5: Recommend a tear jerker.

 I have recently purchased a few books that would fit in this category based on what others have said about them. However I haven't read them yet. The only ones that I have read that were emotional and I did shed a few tears for were Flawed by Kate Avelynn and If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch. 

Flawed won't be for everyone. It talks about terrible issues but I was so drawn to the characters and felt for them and what they went/go through that it was a bit of a tear jerker (especially the ending). 

If You Find Me is about abuse and neglect but the characters are amazing. You could feel the strong  relationship between Carey and Jenessa and there are moments that make you feel raw. 

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 4

This 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by Good Books and Good Wine.

Day 4: What's the last book you flung across the room?

I don't actually throw books across the room no matter how much I might hate them. However I do come across books that frustrate me to no end that I would love to throw, but don't, though I do scream a little at them. 

The last book that made me feel that way is a book I think everyone except me loved, and that is The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. 


Everybody freakin' loved this book. When I started reading it I thought "Yes. I understand the love, this is pretty good so far." Then the first part ended, and my dislike for the book started. Basically from pages 105 until around 358, I was wanting to throw it across the room. 

I didn't hate the book completely, but it was definitely the last book that made me feel that way. (its is here If you want to read my ranty, sarcastic review)

I look forward to seeing what books you wanted to throw. =)

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 3

Day 3: Who are your blogging BFFs?

This was probably the one question that I was dreading. I haven't been hugely social since I started blogging. In the beginning I was trying to be, commenting back every time, etc. but then I got side tracked by life, and uni and while still posting on the blog I wasn't getting around "socialising" like I should have been. So I haven't made any BFF's since I started blogging. Which is Really. Sad. =( 

I'd love to say that I'm going to change that, but although I'm trying to chat more on twitter and the like, I'm not always playing attention, so I can't really promise that it will change. The only thing I can say is that I am always here and I do respond to tweets and I have met some amazing people. But I'm slack. And I'm sorry. =( 

I'm not sure if now is the time to post the "wanted: BFF in the blogosphere" ad?!? =P

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge | Day 1 &. Day 2

Late to join, but I've seen all the great posts from many people joining the

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge from April, Good Books and Good Wine, that I thought I'd just join late anyway. =)

Day 2 – Bedtime Reading Routines

I don't really have a bedtime reading routine. I have a tendency to read in my office chair as my desk is in the lounge room, and the chair is really comfortable plus I can lean back in it and I put my feet up on the end of the sofa (you can see the end of the sofa in the photo) which makes it a super comfy place to read. 

Generally its just my son and me at home in the evening so we have showers, dinner and watch some tv (or I do uni work, blog posts, reading, etc and my son watches tv) then when he is in bed, I keep doing what I was doing before. Normally it then gets late (much later than I wanted it to be) and I go to bed and read before going asleep. Depending on how exciting the book is I will read for 30 mins or for too many hours. 

I don't always get to read at night. Sometimes I'm up really late doing uni assignments and I just want to sleep and not read at all. 

Day 1: Make 15 book-related confessions.

1. I'm a sucker for a beautiful book cover. Most of the time I over look books that don't have covers that catch my attention. Any book that I have read that doesn't have an eye catching cover I picked up because I already love the author, or it was something that I've seen bloggers rave about. 

2. I have run out of bookshelf space. My bookshelf is full and my books are currently piling up on any flat surface in my lounge room. I don't want to buy new bookshelves until we buy after we move (if we ever find a house we want to buy!) because I want to make sure the bookshelves I get will fit and suit the house. My husband doesn't understand this and is frustrated by it. haha. 

3. I like my books (and CD's and DVD's) in alphabetical order, but because I don't have enough shelf space (for books, CDs and DVDs may I add!) nothing is in alphabetical order and it drives me crazy. 

4. Despite having an ereader and an iPad, I still prefer physical books. I like being able to see what's on my shelf and see my 'collection' in physical format. I also forget what's on my ereader and overlook all the books that there because they aren't constantly 'in my face'.

5. I use to only read adult books. I 'discovered' YA books last year and haven't looked back. 

6. I don't re-read books. I don't forget stories very easily. I can read part of a book then go back to it months later and finish it. I find that because I don't forget the stories much that I get fed up re-reading a book. The only book I have re-read is To Kill A Mockingbird and the only reason I re-read it was it was originally a school read and then when I finished school years later I bought a copy and read it again. 

7. I don't lend out my books. I can't stand dog ears for bookmarking pages, or broken spines, etc. If I purchase a book new I want it to stay in as good a condition as possible. 

8. I don't write my reviews straight away. I'm shocking at writing my reviews after I have read a book. Sometimes it takes me months to do so. Life just gets in the way. =(

9. No close friends know I blog. My husband and my mum know I blog but that's it. I don't want people I know personally to read what I write (yeah, I know, I'm odd). 

10. I must read the book before I see the movie. Unless I'm not overly interested in the book. When I saw the movie trailer for The Hunger Games I really wanted to see the movie, so I got a copy of all three books and read them back to back over 3 days. I didn't even do my uni assignments until I finished the books. I only had one day to write one full assignment. lol. I have avoided watching Warm Bodies, Beautiful Creatures and The Silver Linings Playbook until I read the books. 

11. I also judge the movie based on the book I've read. I hated the changes that were made to The Hunger Games movie, and My Sisters Keeper (and others). I criticise the movie to no end, even if I like the movie.

12. I rarely DNF books.  If I'm feeling pushed for time and I'm not liking the story, I'll DNF, but once I start a book I normally feel like I have to finish it. It's not a guilt thing, it just a 'finish what you start' thing. 

13. I never use to take notice of authors. I always remembered the title of a book, but not the author. Now they go together and any negative actions by the author affect how I view the book. ie. I won't read it. 

14. I often read multiple books at once. See #6. I have no problem with confusing stories or forgetting what happens. Most of the time I just get fed up with a book and want to read something else so I do. I am currently reading 4 books but I haven't read anything from 2 of them for a few months now. 

15. I'm not a fan of love triangles, insta-love or bad boys. I don't care if the girl "changes" the guy because it's not realistic. If the girl is an idiot then I don't care either way. I prefer a romance to develop not to be a lusty crush. 


So there are my confessions. =) I think I'm the odd one out on some of these. :p